Briami / Oven roasted vegetables

Briami meaning "oven roasted vegetables", is a traditional Greek vegetarian dish. There are so many things to love about this dish - it's nutritious, colourful and incredibly delicious! A symphony of aromas play out in our kitchen, bringing a smile to all that experience it. We shared our Briami tonight with our neighbour Lilyana. Who might you share this dish with?  Our take on this recipe below, and we serve as a main dish. You can serve as a side, giving you more portions. Because the sauce is so beautifully rich and flavoursome, we have made sure to keep the remaining, to be used as a sauce back with lamb, chicken and fish. We wish we could install a button on our blog that you could press to release the aroma!

Rustic chopping begins

Finely sliced onions
(refer to previous post
chopping onions without tears)

finely chopped garlic

adding capsicum, zucchini, garlic, onion
to oven dish

Adding potato and tomatoes
 to oven dish

Eggplant,dried oregano
salt, pepper, lemon juice,
olive oil and hot water
added to dish

At this stage I remove dish from oven
after 30 mins of cooking time
 and add parsley and more
hot water, place into oven
for another 75minutes

Briami plated up, ready to serve!

Traditional Greek Briami "oven roasted vegetables"

serves 5 as main course

2 zucchini, cut into chunks

6 large potatoes, peeled and quartered into chunks

1 brown onion, finely sliced

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 red capsicums, cored, seeded and cut into chunks

1 eggplant thickly sliced

800g chopped canned tomatoes

150ml good quality extra virgin oil

250ml hot water

1/2 fresh lemon juice

1-2 tsp dried oregano

5 tbs chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

generous pinch of good quality salt and cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 190 degrees

Wash all vegetables to dislodge any dirt/grit and then begin chopping

Thickly slice eggplant, season with salt and leave to rest for 15-30 mins on paper towel or in colander

(the salt will reduce any bitterness and can reduce the amount of oil they soak up during cooking)

Chop zucchini into chunks

Seed and core capsicums and cut into chunks

Finely slice onion (see previous post on chopping onions without tears)

Finely chop garlic

Add zucchini, capsicum, onion, garlic to deep oven dish

Peel and quarter potatoes into chunks and add to the oven dish

Wash eggplant to remove salt and pat dry with paper towel. Add to dish

Add canned tomatoes to dish covering vegetables

Mix well, then stir in 150ml olive oil, 150ml hot water and lemon juice

Add the dried oregano and season with salt and pepper

Check that mixture is spread evenly and your rustic dish is ready for the oven

Bake for 30 minutes at 190 degrees - ENJOY the incredible aromas!

Take out after 30 mins and stir in parsley and 100ml hot water

Return to oven and cook for another 75 minutes, increasing the temperature to 200 degrees for the final 15 minutes

Serve Briami in clay pot to complete your rustic dish (or any plate/bowl will do)

Reserve any leftover sauce and use with lamb, chicken or fish

Sprinkle with a little more parsley and serve

ENJOY! -X-